Why It’s Hard to Care About Roman Reigns Anymore

If there’s a babyface wrestling fans have hated more over the past ten years than Roman Reigns, feel free to point them out.

John Cena is the easy choice, but despite all the criticism and chants, there’s a lot of respect there from his haters. Reigns doesn’t have that luxury.

He’s almost universally panned online by smarks wherever you look, an angry forum post decrying him for getting a shot over someone else here, an angry tirade about him just not being a good wrestler there. People may like to argue a lot online, but discovering a mutual hatred for Roman Reigns is one of the quickest way to make new friends.

I, on the other hand, couldn’t care less.

I watched as he won Royal Rumble 2015 and joined in the disbelief and disappointment held by almost everyone in Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center. When he bored an arena to death at WrestleMania 32, I was injecting caffeine into my veins like the rest of you to try and get through it. And when he beat AJ Styles time and time again, I shook my head and banged out some words on a keyboard like many others.

But here’s the thing: whether it’s because I’m softening up or possibly turning towards a nihilistic lifestyle, I find it seriously difficult to complain or care about Roman Reigns or to which part of the moon he is pushed.

I had suspected it for a while ever since I could watch his matches without feeling personally victimised, but when he dropped the US Title belt to Chris Jericho to free him up for a main event run at the Universal Championship, I barely even managed a frown.

It’s just hard to hate, or even care, about him anymore.

That’s because we’ve been on this train for so long with WWE, the constant missteps and bad ideas with The Rock’s not-actual-cousin, that it just feels inevitable that he will be going to the top again. The boos aren’t changing anything, because as loud as Reigns’ detractors are, there’s arguably an even bigger proportion supporting him on social media and in other countries where the cameras aren’t rolling on him every Monday.

Reigns is marketable: he’s the guy you want sat in an ill-fitted suit on a talk show, smirking on the face of magazines, and as the spokesperson for charities. As much as his in-ring talent may divide opinion, WWE will keep on trying with him as long as he sells this much merchandise and creates as many headlines.

Even as the face of the company, it’s quite easy to avoid him altogether, though. In their endless quest to dominate every single possible wrestling market, WWE have produced an exhausting amount of content, none of it featuring Reigns. There’s NXT, Smackdown Live, and even 205 Live to devour each week, and with Reigns on RAW, if I don’t want to watch him, I don’t have to. Without realising it, WWE might have divided up their brands for the better, giving fans the opportunity to almost select their “experience” as they see fit.

That’s without mentioning the amount of other promotions out there, reminding everyone that WWE isn’t the be all and end all. Listing them off seems pointless, but ROH, PWG, and NJPW offer much different wrestling if a change of pace is needed. Even if Reigns wins the Rumble and headlines another WrestleMania, I don’t care as long as there are other places to turn.

Wrestling is cyclical in its nature. Stars come and go, fans cheer wrestlers one day and then boo the next – it’s all down to the insatiable demand for something newer, something fresh. I’ve always thought that Daniel Bryan’s early retirement was almost a blessing; allowing his popularity to be crystallised at its most potent.

Before long, Roman Reigns won’t be “The Guy”. He’ll just be “A Guy”. And while he does his thing and the McMahons hit their head against a wall trying to figure out how to make him work, I’ll keep not caring and let the cycle run its course.